I'm amazed at how much foot faulting I see in adult league play

I was watching my mixed doubles team play last night, and I saw players from both teams foot fault on almost every serve they made. It was only the guys, and not the girls in this case.

Last week, when I finished my court in our men's league match, and was watching the other courts finish play, I saw a couple of other guys who foot fault all the time.

I am amazed at how much foot faulting I see as a spectator, but I hardly ever notice it while on the court myself. After seeing the guys that foot fault, I was considering if I'd call them on foot faulting when I play a league match against them in the future. (i probably wouldn't) I've never done this in the past, but knowing who to look for, it could work in my favor to get them thrown-off by a foot fault warning.

What do you think? Would you call a foot fault? Have you ever played in a match where one was called?

I think I've called three foot faults in my entire match play career. Two were center line crosses and one was an obvious loss off balance oops. I could care less if someones foot touches the line. If they are going over the line and inflicting a pretty S&V game on me I might ask for a official to watch.

The problem I have with a lot obvious foot faults is that it's often used to chase bad tosses. In that case, it negates the need for the server to have a proper toss and turns what would have been a fault into a serve in.

The general consensus after dozens of long footfault threads is that it happens all the time, it's not that big of a deal (even though it is), and you're a d-bag if you mention it.

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With the people I play against, it probably isn't a big deal, and probably gives them little or no advantage.

But, foot faulting is so easy to correct, I'm wondering why we live with it. All the server has to do is start back a half step further (unless he's terribly blatant about it) to prevent the infractions.

If we pointed out foot faults more often, we'd probably win more games by simply bugging our opponents with the call.

And afterward in the club canteen you would be drinking your beer, all alone with your victory.

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Wouldn't that be only because they aren't called with any regularity? If we all grew a set, and called foot faults like we call any other fault, perhaps the calls wouldn't be looked at with such disdain.

Wouldn't that be only because they aren't called with any regularity? If we all grew a set, and called foot faults like we call any other fault, perhaps the calls wouldn't be looked at with such disdain.

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Me, I'm not going to grow a pair.

I'm going to let it slide until the postseason. Then I will trust the officials to call it.

I've never honestly called a foot fault, I do the same as what someone else posted. At change over, I just let them know that their feet are awfully close to the lines! I don't really care if my opponent does it, it means literally nothing to me as long as they aren't standing in the court when they serve!

In singles, as the receiver, it's nearly impossible to see/call a foot fault. In doubles, you'd have to rely on your partner at net.

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What he said.

There is no possible way to call a foot fault in singles unless the person is well over the line, which is why you need an official. In doubles, its almost the same thing. Even the net player would have a hard time seeing a person stepping on half the line or less.

I was watching my mixed doubles team play last night, and I saw players from both teams foot fault on almost every serve they made. It was only the guys, and not the girls in this case.

Last week, when I finished my court in our men's league match, and was watching the other courts finish play, I saw a couple of other guys who foot fault all the time.

I am amazed at how much foot faulting I see as a spectator, but I hardly ever notice it while on the court myself. After seeing the guys that foot fault, I was considering if I'd call them on foot faulting when I play a league match against them in the future. (i probably wouldn't) I've never done this in the past, but knowing who to look for, it could work in my favor to get them thrown-off by a foot fault warning.

What do you think? Would you call a foot fault? Have you ever played in a match where one was called?

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Irks me no end that my club and local leagues don't enforce the foot fault rules. I've tried to get my doubles partner to watch his serve but nada. AT the club, everyone looks at me weirdly and often glares when I yell foot fault, half in jest, just want us to take it seriously!

Playing mens doubles night at the club this week, I was called out twice in the same set by the same receiver for dragging my foot across the line before launching my serve. I'm actually very careful about my positioning and if I stray it is inches and no more. Besides how can the receiver behind the baseline accurately make that call.....as I protested. Unless someone is a habitual cheater, we don't call foot faults in club mens doubles. Unfortunately, I let the interuption bother me and didn't hold up my end as well as i should have....we lost. I'm still annoyed, but have to get it out of my head this weekend.

I was watching my mixed doubles team play last night, and I saw players from both teams foot fault on almost every serve they made. It was only the guys, and not the girls in this case.

Last week, when I finished my court in our men's league match, and was watching the other courts finish play, I saw a couple of other guys who foot fault all the time.

I am amazed at how much foot faulting I see as a spectator, but I hardly ever notice it while on the court myself. After seeing the guys that foot fault, I was considering if I'd call them on foot faulting when I play a league match against them in the future. (i probably wouldn't) I've never done this in the past, but knowing who to look for, it could work in my favor to get them thrown-off by a foot fault warning.

What do you think? Would you call a foot fault? Have you ever played in a match where one was called?

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90% of the players Foot Fault even in upper level like 4.5. Some do it more often than others and some less than others but is there really a difference ??? if you get into foot fault calling war during the match,,i assure you, the match won't be fun.

C'mon ppl...this is USTA Tennis not Pro Tennis! I had enough to worry about waiting for a serve.:twisted:

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Only thing is some guys to get ticked off. If the guy has a huge serve and you are not having any luck trying to break his serve,,,,and you see him footfaulting 50% of the time,,,,,,,then would you be happy and say No big deal.....i just won't look............

And afterward in the club canteen you would be drinking your beer, all alone with your victory.

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I see it pretty often too and think these comments pretty much sum it up. I see it more in my social matches than USTA actually. I mentioned it once and the guy got bent out of shape. I mentioned it to another guy once and he was actually grateful for letting him know. He didn't want anyone muttering under their breath that he was foot-faulting. I'd like to think that's how I'd react but who knows...you never know what kind of reaction you'll get.

Last match in USTA combo we won a close first set then got smoked in the 2nd set 1-6 sending it to a 3rd set tiebreaker. Late in the 2nd I had noticed the best guy on the other team was obviously foot-faulting. The little evil in me considered mentioning it in the tiebreak but I couldn't bring myself to do it. They were nice guys, but more importantly I thought the timing was bad...if I was going to do it I should've noticed and mentioned it earlier in the match. Secondly, he had a kick serve that was easily clearing the net so it wasn't a like he hit it flat and it barely skimmed over.

Its annoying b/c I can be a rule snob sometimes but like another posted wrote...maybe ignorance is bliss and its better not even to look for it. I'm talking social and USTA adult rec tennis here...not Pro, College or even H.S.

I also see it happening a lot and by some of the biggest servers around here. The one guy is almost impossible to break, serves around 115mph and while watching his matches the last few weeks, I saw that he foot faults on 9 out of 10 of his serves and has never been called on it when I was watching. I told some others as we were watching and they acted like they never had any idea he foot faulted.

I called it once in a doubles match (after numerous warnings went unheeded) when the guy's foot was continually way over the line. The match went ballistic and was not fun for anyone.

In a singles match once I pointed out to my opponent that he was starting out with his back foot way over the center hash mark. I told him I wasn't calling a foot fault but just letting him know where his foot was. He then made a good faith effort to correct his serving position for the rest of the match.

Funny how different the results were in these two cases. I think that habitually foot faulting says a lot more about a person than they realize.

The very ugly USO Serena incident, was a turning point for those who don't think foot faulting is a big deal. I couldn't believe my ears--professional TV tennis commentators stating foot faults should not be called if it's on a critical point. But, such idiotic opinions coincide with the general down hill slide of the rest of the culture and the sad shape of the empire, depressing.

The general consensus after dozens of long footfault threads is that it happens all the time, it's not that big of a deal (even though it is), and you're a d-bag if you mention it.

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Why is it a big deal? It's not like he's gaining some massive advantage that he wouldn't have if he stood a couple of inches back.

If a guy blatantly footfaults regularly I'll mention it to him at the end of the match, saying that I don't care but the next guy might. That at least brings it to his attention and leaves it up to him if he wants to fix it.

It's like a guy grounding his club on the fairway when playing golf. He's technically not supposed to do it... but really, what's the practical difference if he does?

Why is it a big deal? It's not like he's gaining some massive advantage that he wouldn't have if he stood a couple of inches back.

If a guy blatantly footfaults regularly I'll mention it to him at the end of the match, saying that I don't care but the next guy might. That at least brings it to his attention and leaves it up to him if he wants to fix it.

It's like a guy grounding his club on the fairway when playing golf. He's technically not supposed to do it... but really, what's the practical difference if he does?

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What's the big deal if a player barely touches the net with his follow through after hitting the ball? What's the big deal if a player hits a ball before it come across his side of the net?

The deal is that we have rules. You either play by ALL of the rules, or you don't.

The deal is that we have rules. You either play by ALL of the rules, or you don't.

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What a horribly mindless way to play rec tennis. If a player infringes the rules and by doing so he disadvantages me, sure - I'll call it. But if it doesn't hurt me, why should I care? Why spoil a game with needless and pernickety infringements?

Why is it a big deal? It's not like he's gaining some massive advantage that he wouldn't have if he stood a couple of inches back.

If a guy blatantly footfaults regularly I'll mention it to him at the end of the match, saying that I don't care but the next guy might. That at least brings it to his attention and leaves it up to him if he wants to fix it.

It's like a guy grounding his club on the fairway when playing golf. He's technically not supposed to do it... but really, what's the practical difference if he does?

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In golf, you can ground your club on the fairway. You just cannot ground your club in a hazard.

If I'm just playing a casual round of golf or tennis, I will gently some minor infraction like foot faults or grounding of club in a hazard just in case the offender doesn't know, but I won't enforce it. But technically in a golf tournament, you have to enforce even minor infractions because you are responsible for "protecting the entire field" when your playing partner incurs a penalty. I realize that some of these penalties seem harsh...that is, the penalty doesn't fit the "crime", but you just learn to accept it if you happen to be the offender.

Why is it a big deal? It's not like he's gaining some massive advantage that he wouldn't have if he stood a couple of inches back.

If a guy blatantly footfaults regularly I'll mention it to him at the end of the match, saying that I don't care but the next guy might. That at least brings it to his attention and leaves it up to him if he wants to fix it.

It's like a guy grounding his club on the fairway when playing golf. He's technically not supposed to do it... but really, what's the practical difference if he does?

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Nitpick - In golf you are not supposed to ground your club in a hazard. You can ground it on the fairway. The reason it isn't allowed in a hazard is so you can't 'accidentally' improve your lie by brushing the ground around your ball. That rule gets applied reasonably often in professional golf, just ask Dustin Johnson.

I've played tennis 40 years and never called a foot fault on anyone. One reason is that I'm focusing on the ball and not their feet. Another is that it is often hard (for me) to see slight foot faults (e.g. a toe touching the line). However, you only have to watch a match at just about any level to see plenty of foot faulting. I watched a self-officiated DIII match recently where one girl was stepping at least a foot inside the baseline on every serve. Her opponent never said a thing about it.

[Player touches the net during point.] There is no big deal. I wouldn't call that.

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Technically, the guy has to call it on himself. If he doesn't call it, he's a cheater. You have to play tennis and perform athletically inside a certain set of both tangible and intangible boundaries. Touching the net during a point is a very big deal. If the player couldn't perform inside the boundaries, then he loses the point.

This is not a question of whether touching the net gave him some advantage. If the ball is still in play, the point ends immediately when the player touches the net.

These were simply 2 examples of tennis rules that some think are silly. my point was, and is, that if we are going to ignore some rules (foot faulting) why not ignore them all.

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Exactly!!

I was just telling a cop the other day while standing over a dead body with a bloody knife in my hand that I saw a guy speeding earlier. And if the cops are going to ignore speeders, why can't they ignore the occasional murder?

I was just telling a cop the other day while standing over a dead body with a bloody knife in my hand that I saw a guy speeding earlier. And if the cops are going to ignore speeders, why can't they ignore the occasional murder?

I was just telling a cop the other day while standing over a dead body with a bloody knife in my hand that I saw a guy speeding earlier. And if the cops are going to ignore speeders, why can't they ignore the occasional murder?

Makes no sense to me.

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The reason the copy will go after the murder because of limited resource, therefore priorities.

In the case of making the right call in a tennis match, limited resource is not one of the problem.

So what rules are silly (but need to be strictly enforced) and what rules are beyond question (and who gets to decide)?

Should the chair umpire have a stopwatch at professional matches and enforce the 25 second rule strictly? The 5 minute warmup rule? The coaching rule? How about calls for review?

Would you want a league match held to the exact same standards are a professional match in all regards?

Are all rules black and white? Are some grey? Should judgement and discretion be involved or should it be "letter of the law" all the way? If so, where does it end? Do we need to measure the exact height of the net to the millimeter after each point? After all, there is an exact height specificed and that should be enforced?

The reason the copy will go after the murder because of limited resource, therefore priorities.

In the case of making the right call in a tennis match, limited resource is not one of the problem.

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Not to labor this point, but certainly you have sped past a cop and not been pulled over, correct (or any example you want)? Ever jaywalked with a cop around? Was he just limited in his resources and couldn't write you a ticket?

I totally agree. IMO, it is much simpler to not be judgmental about the rules, just follow the rules on all the calls and enjoy the game.

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exactly!

We should all be following ALL of the rules to the best of our ability.

Like another poster pointed out earlier, when I am playing singles, I probably will hardly ever notice a foot fault because I am too busy concentrating on the ball. However, in doubles, I see nothing wrong with the non-receiving partner watching for foot faults.

Not to labor this point, but certainly you have sped past a cop and not been pulled over, correct (or any example you want)? Ever jaywalked with a cop around? Was he just limited in his resources and couldn't write you a ticket?

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If I remember correct, I have never done those in front of a cop. I might have sped a little bit in front of cops a few times, but I wasn't fast enough (only 10km over) to deserve a ticket... yet.

If I remember correct, I have never done those in front of a cop. I might have sped a little bit in front of cops a few times, but I wasn't fast enough (only 10km over) to deserve a ticket... yet.

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I only footfaulted a little bit

Why do I deserve a ticket?

How can you be a "black and white letter of the law guy" in some instances but not in others? Apparantly you and AR15 use some disrection to decide when to be "letter of the law". Which sounds to me like some rules you think are "important" and some are not so important. How do you decide? And then, why is your judgement more valid than someone elses?

Personally, I'm very concerned with net height because I know that even one millimeter can mean the difference between the ball hitting the tape and falling over the net or not falling over the net. Some people say I'm wrong to be obsessed with measuring the net height, but I don't think so. I understand how important it can be and I also know the rule.